1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a reconfigurable integrated circuit that can be configured as a matrix multiplier or a convolver and, more particularly, to a single chip that can, in a first mode, be used to perform matrix multiplication operations used for data transformation such as matching color data to a color display or for transforming data from one color space to another, for example from RGB to YIQ and, in a second mode, be used to perform a convolution operation on the data as for example to enhance image data and improve the sharpness of the image produced on a display.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the data processing associated with a color imaging system three channel color data is available either by direct exposure, as in a CCD camera, or can be produced by a digital scanner. To obtain a high quality output, color and sharpness attributes of the data need to be specially processed. To reproduce optimum color, taking into account spectral sensitivities and display properties of a complete imaging chain, a three by three matrix multiplication conversion operation is performed. A convolution operation is applied to the luminance channel of the color data to enhance the sharpness of the image. Traditionally, these operations have been performed by a processor (computer) performing non-real-time operations, although separate chips dedicated to these operations have been produced. What is needed is a hardware solution to both of these functions on a single chip exploiting the commonalities of the two operations, which will allow the operations necessary for image processing to be performed in real time.